Trump inauguration: Flags will fly full staff for Inauguration Day, return to half-staff after

Flags will resume flying at full mast at the U.S. Capitol temporarily for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Speaker Mike Johnson said the flags will be fully flown on Monday, The New York Times reported.

“On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump. The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter,” Johnson posted to social media.

Trump had said that he wanted the flags fully flown during the inauguration and had already brought flags to the top of flag poles at Mar-a-Lago, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

The president-elect wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3, “The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration.” He continued, referring to flags at half-mast, writing, “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days “at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds … of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions,” in honor of Carter who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, The Washington Post reported.

The length of time flags are supposed to fly at half-staff in the event of the death of a former or sitting president is part of the U.S. flag code - Title 4, Chapter 1, section 7, subsection M, which requires a 30-day period. Shorter periods are for vice presidents, chief justices of the Supreme Court and other government leaders.

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